1,346 Frontier AI Employees Petition Government for International AI Slowdown Mechanisms
deanwball · x · 2026-08-05
1,346 employees from frontier AI labs, including OpenAI, have co-signed a public statement titled "Pacing the Frontier," urging the U.S. government to lead an international effort to manage the runaway risks of automated AI research.
The statement notes that while AI could create a dramatically better future, companies believe they are close to automating AI research itself, potentially accelerating capability development beyond human control. Employees argue that under intense competitive pressure, unilateral restraint by a single company or country is unrealistic and would only hand the advantage to the least safety-conscious labs.
They request government support to develop technical and governance tools to deliberately pace frontier-wide progress if necessary. Responding to accusations of regulatory capture, coordinating employees emphasized that the initiative calls for international coordination and is not a demand for an immediate pause, but rather a plea to build the capacity to slow down if needed.
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